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page 2 of 5
 Carting and stacking mustard. |
Before the days of advanced farm machinery the mustard crop was largely grown by hand methods. The resulting plant suffered from many deficiencies and was a difficult crop to harvest. Some types grew to a height of 10 feet or more and could easily be flattened by wind or rain. Harvesting at just the right time was crucial as fully ripe pods would split and spill the seed. The crop was cut with sickles, tied into sheaves to dry, then stacked ready for threshing. |
Dawbarn's shop, Wisbech.
| Some seed was grown locally as it still is today, but seed also came from Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and even from Holland. Before contracts, seed was mainly purchased at special annual markets at Wisbech where it was stored by Messrs. Dawbarn & Sons before being transported to Norfolk by wagon or later by train. |  Mustard seed store. |
Return to the Unofficial Colman's Mustard Website
Reproduced with permission of Unilever Historical Archives.
For further details about the history of Colman's
of Norwich, please contact:
Unilever Historical Archives, The Lyceum, Bridge Street,
Wirral, Merseyside, L62 4UJ or phone 01516458942